Not sure if color coding is going to help much, but here's what I would do. If it's a dual entry cable (like, wires go into both earcups) then there's a 100% chance of there being 4 wires inside (balanced). So just cut the 1/4" plug off with a bit of the cable behind it that you can strip and identify. Figure out which wire is right, left, and which are the 2 grounds - the grounds go to the sleeve of the plug, right to ring, left to the tip. To figure out which ground goes to right earcup and which to left, take one of the grounds and a multimeter (set to check continuity) and touch one lead to the ground. Then, touch the other lead to the left or right wire, with the headphones on. If you hear a crackling sound with the ground (and see resistance on your meter) you know that the ground goes to that earcup. If you hear nothing, try the other channel. Then, solder up that 4 pin XLR - pins 1, 2, 3, 4 are L+, L-, R+, R-.

I originally asked that question, I didn't follow through with the conversion for the following reasons:

1. The W1000x's have such a beautiful cable and wood encased plug I couldn't bring myself to snip them off.

2. From a various posts I've read here, AT headphones don't improve dramatically from a balanced configuration as say an HD650.

If your still hellbent on experimenting with balanced, I think a better solution would be to replace the entire cable de-soldering it from the back of the drivers, that way going back to a stock W1000x is still possible.

Francisdemarte, I recall reading your question awhile back about going balanced with the HP. I do have the spare/unused ADZ-5 that I might experiment with. Thinking of picking up some Nylon Multifilament Braided Sleeving and a pair of ViaBlue T6 3-pin XLRs to dress up the cable.